Article excerpt

Killing Oklahoma's securities industry will be the end result of the
attorney general's bill to strip the state securities department of
its legal staff, according to brokers and securities lawyers who
spoke Thursday at a hearing conducted by the Oklahoma Securities
Commission.

"In my opinion," said David Newsome, a Tulsa securities lawyer,
"he (Attorney General Robert Henry) has just told you the securities
industry is going to shut down in this state."

However, Senate Bill 139 isn't aimed at just one agency.

The bill, which passed the Oklahoma Senate by a vote of 46-1 on
Tuesday, would place all attorneys for all state agencies, boards
and commissions under the attorney general's supervision and
control.

Only Sen. Bernest Cain, D-Oklahoma City, voted against the
measure.

The only exempt agencies would be the corporation commission,
tax commission, the State Insurance Fund, and the Workers'
Compensation Court, according to this proposed new law.

After the hearing, the Oklahoma Securities Commission voted to
oppose the bill and act on a suggestion by Wayne Osborn, acting bank
commissioner, to lobby the bill's authors, including state Sen. Tim
Leonard, R-Beaver, and Rep. James Hamilton, R-Poteau, to exempt the
Oklahoma Securities Commission from this legislation.

Without a legal staff, the Oklahoma Department of Securities
would be unable to process applications for registration of public
offerings of securities, it was noted by Joe Rockett, an Oklahoma
City securities lawyer.

That could dry up a primary source of venture capital in
Oklahoma, said Bruce Day, an Oklahoma City attorney who practices
securities law. Like Newsome, he is a former administrator of the
state's securities department.

"I can't think of anything," Day said, "that would be more
important to the state's future than investment regulation in
Oklahoma, and yet here we are talking about restructuring the
regulation of the entire investment industry. …